2013 – Taste Awards Archive

Posted by Canstar Blue August 26th 2013

You are viewing our archived Taste Awards from 2013. We’ve rated other food and drink brands more recently.

Shoppers willing to pay for great Australian food

Our recent supermarket research showed that Australians feel strongly about supporting local food producers, and the results of our latest Taste survey reveal many shoppers are putting their money where their mouth is.

More than half our respondents check to see where their product originates from prior to purchasing, and more than three quarters of respondents make an effort to buy Australian brands. Nearly three in five are willing to spend more money on these Australian made products too.

However, while the majority of shoppers check the origin of the products before they buy, when it comes to making the final decision:

88% think taste is more important than the food’s origin, and

66% think price is more important than origin.

In keeping with the above majority, 86% of all respondents are prepared to pay more for an item if it tastes good. But how are you, as a consumer, supposed to know which items taste best?

We’ve taken the guesswork out of the equation by conducting our regular Taste Awards, to help shoppers find the tastiest brands. Find out more about how we developed these results here.

A muesli bar might hit the sweet spot for your mid-morning snack, and our findings say that confectionary kings Cadbury produce the best tasting bar. If you’re more after a drink than a snack, Bickford’s achieved our award for cordial for the second year in a row.

Fans of PB and J, nutty cookies or even the simple taste of ‘bread and spread’ know that peanut butter goes well with almost anything. Kraft achieved our taste award in this area – being a go-to brand for peanut butter lovers. In fact, half of the peanut butter customers who responded to this survey buy the same brand each time they shop – regardless of specials and offers on other items.

Another product many customers have shown exceptional loyalty to is tea bags. Roughly half of respondents who purchase tea always buy the same brand. Whether you’re a long-standing fan of English Breakfast or more interested in enjoying a cup of Earl Grey, Madura has achieved our Taste Award for the second time in this category.

When we’re time poor, there isn’t always time to bake from scratch. This may be why more than a quarter of baking packet mix customers have passed off the finished product as their own cooking. If you need to dazzle – minus the time and effort – our respondents have rated Adriano Zumbo’s packet baking mixes the tastiest.

For lovers of jam, toast doesn’t come much better than topped with lashings of their favourite fruity spread. Our award winner for this category was Anathoth.

Many Australians crave something a bit more substantial for breakfast than toast and turn to breakfast cereals to help see them through the day. Our cereal award winner for taste, Sanitarium Weet-Bix, should fill the stomachs of even the most peckish Australians. How many do you do?

For those having trouble getting up in the first place, the winner of our instant coffee taste award, Moccona, may just do the trick in getting you out of bed.

Finally, when all else fails, a hearty bowl of pasta will satisfy even the largest of hunger pangs. For a quick and easy solution to your Italian cravings, take a look at Paul Newman’s Own for your pasta sauce needs.

Best in the fridge

No dinner party is complete without a handsome selection of dips; maybe in a cob loaf, or even just accompanied by crackers. Yumi’s have been rated the tastiest in this department, and have taken out our 2013 Taste Award for dips.

The right salad dressing can really compliment a meal. However, in the case of some of our respondents, taste takes a backseat to health. More than two in five customers have reported they buy healthier dressings – even if they don’t taste as nice as the full-flavour options. If you’re shopping based on taste, search the aisles for our salad dressing award winner: Paul Newman’s Own.

How about Mexican for dinner (or at least the Australian version)? Your nachos won’t be complete without cheese, and ALDI brands have received our taste award for block cheese.

Yoghurt can be a nice afternoon snack or a quick, healthy, breakfast solution. Gippsland was number one for yoghurt taste – notably for the second year running.

One of the best things about frozen meals is that you can choose from a wide variety flavours, and in many cases opt for low fat options. Interestingly, close to half of the surveyed frozen meal customers purchase lighter options even though others in their household prefer less healthy alternatives.

Our frozen meal taste award for 2013 went to Coles, but if you have more of a hunger for an Italian household favourite, try the winner of our taste award for frozen pizzas: Dr Oetker’s.

There’s no need to wait around for the ice cream truck to come down your street when you can pick up a great tasting tub of vanilla or chocolate from the supermarket instead. Taste seemed to be the deciding factor for customers when choosing an ice cream brand, as 77% of shoppers told us they think premium ice cream tastes better than cheaper brands. This seemed the case for Connoisseur, whose customers were most satisfied with the taste of their ice cream. This is the second year in a row the brand has achieved this award.

At the end of a long day at work, sometimes it’s easiest to grab something from the freezer. Next time you’re reaching for frozen chips, you might like to consider our award winner ALDI - once again a tasty choice in this category. Before leaving the frozen section, shoppers might like to grab some vegies as ALDI brands also snatched our taste award for frozen vegetables! This is the second time ALDI has received this award.

But if you’re hungry for something more ‘traditional’ or substantial, hunt out Balfours: our taste award winner for the good old Aussie favourite, frozen pies.

To our knowledge, all information in articles on the Canstar Blue website was correct at the time of publication. This information may have changed over time. Refer to the product fact sheet (or relevant similar documentation) before making any purchase decision. Canstar Blue's website terms and conditions apply.